Roop Shaukeenan Da’, 1983 release, followed the same rule as lead hero-heroine (Satish Kaul, Daljit Kaur), a side hero-heroine (Lehmbar, Rajnibala), supporting character actors (Yash Sharma, Sudha Chopra, Bhag Singh, Kamla Bhag Singh), villains (Gurcharan Pohli, Ved Goswami) and the comedians (Sangeeta Mehta, Mehar Mittal).
In the past, most Indian films had a basic set of characters—hero-heroine, side-hero-side heroine, character actor, comedian, and villain. This was because it was necessary to have all the parts to make a film complete, especially from a commercial point of view so that it would be liked by all.
Over the years, cinema has overcome these character requirements and made a shift towards a story with no forced subplots or keeping the main characters in focus. However, there are still some films in Punjabi cinema that follow the same character pattern in the script since its inception.
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Roop Shaukeenan Da Movie Story
The story behind how this film was conceived is quite unique. The NRIs first wanted to enter the film business. Younger brother Lahimbar wanted to be an actor and work with Diljit Kaur as a hero.
So he came in contact with Kanwal Biala (film director). The story is written by lyricist Dev Karnail Lallanwale. Later, it was revealed that Lehbar was too young and too experienced to play the lead role. So Satish Kaul was signed along with Daljit Kaur, while Gujarati actress Rajni Bala was linked with Lahimbari.
Prior to ‘Roop Shaukeenan Da’, Daljit Kaur was doing another film (Sohni Mahiwal) of director Kanwal Biala (also producer of that film) which was in making for quite a long time. When he approached her for ‘Roop Shaukeenan Da’, She shared her doubts with the NRI producer brothers.
But to her surprise, the film was wrapped in two schedules. While the long stuck ‘Sohni Mahiwal’ saw progression on the work front. As usual, the wrong practices by fooling producers have always been there in Punjabi Film Industry. The director was said to be spending funds of ‘Roop Shaukeenan Da’ on his own delayed production ‘Sohni Mahiwal’ and was shooting for both the side of the film by side (jointly directed by Shashi Pal).
Roop Shaukeenan Da Movie Cast
Speaking of the cast of the film, nowadays we have our own Punjabi cast, at that time most of the cast came from Bombay. Harminder Singh, who contributed to ‘Roop Shaukeenan Da, recalls, “Sometimes the team would arrange to stay in a house in his village or in a guest house or hotel. Daljit Kaur’s parents’ mansion and one in Ludhiana. There was a house and there was not much demand for them.
The artists were given cars along with drivers. Although it is believed that Punjabi cinema lacked professionalism or planning, the cast and crew were well taken care of despite budget constraints. It was my duty to pick up the artists and take them to the location. Mr. Bhag Singh was to take part in the morning schedule of the film. I went to Chandigarh in the morning to pick him up on the set.
Roop Shaukeenan Da Movie Location
Regarding the locations of the film and the local crowd, Singh said that he should join hands with the people and request them not to disrupt the shooting of the film.
While they were most welcome to see it and they will be compelled to do so. But once it happened that while the shooting was going on, actress Rajinibala was stoned. Someone in the crowd threw him, but he continued firing after the unfortunate incident.
Balbir Singh Begampuri, who shared his memories of the film with the Trend Punjabi team, said, “Rajnibala was an experienced actress and she was working with a newcomer like Lehman. She helped them with their scenes.
Movie Music
As a theme, the film had a regular romance style with a very bold twist, which had never been tried before in any film (considering the age of the characters). Here’s how the story goes – a middle-aged man (the protagonist’s father) tried to rape a middle-aged woman who was the mother of an older daughter (the second protagonist).
The music of the film was popular at the time, with some songs composed by Charanjit Ahuja, and was considered one of the richest, film music albums of its time. If we talk about the performance of the film, people knew that a film called ‘Roop Shaukeenan Da’ is being released. The music was a huge hit which helped in the promotion and although the film did not do well, it did.
One might ask, but what happened to the producer duo, especially the actor Lahimbar initiative?
Well, there is a funny story behind the fortunes of the first brothers in the industry. We all know that Punjabi viewers can be forgiving. Seeing Lehmer’s acting, some in the audience hurled insults at him. It so happened that Lehbar sat in the audience and realized that acting was not his cup of tea. Then, as they say, the rest is history.
Finally, ‘Roop Shaukeenan Da’ is one of those Punjabi films which tastes like the weather of its time. While it was one of the most popular films of the VHS era, it later disappeared as it was never released on VCD or DVD nor was it shown on Punjabi TV channels. Being a song by Kuldeep Manak, the title song got a new lease of life in the age of the internet, just like the movie when a VHS print was uploaded on YouTube.
Trivia
- ‘Roop Shaukeenan Da’ clashed with Bollywood films like ‘Bade Dilwala’, ‘Mujhse Insaaf Chahiye’, ‘Hum Se Hai Zamana’, ‘Hadsa’.
- It was shot mainly around Mohali, Ludhiana and Jalandhar.
- Lyricist Dev Karnail has written the story, he has written the title song with Diljit Kaur in the lead.
- One of the film’s sad songs, ‘Sajna Bajho’ was a favorite of Sardul Sikandar and Amar Noori, who shot a non-commercial domestic video on the same song during their shows abroad.
- While ‘Roop Shaukeenan Da’ was released on time, a director’s ‘Sohni Mahiwal’ already lagged behind for another five years.
